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Pedro Sánchez says two countries cooperating and accuses Israel and Russia of spreading fake news about migration
This story summarizes reporting from theguardian.com. Read the original for full context. Wire items stay in our news sitemap for seven days. Editorial policy.
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World news — Sam Jones in Madrid
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said there is no evidence to suggest the Moroccan government was behind last month’s massive border crossing into Ceuta but accused Israel and Russia of spreading disinformation.
As many as 141 people are thought to have died trying to enter the Spanish enclave at the end of July. The influx of about 70,000 men, women and children unleashed a political crisis, a humanitarian emergency and reignited tensions within the EU over immigration .
Despite speculation that Rabat may have engineered the mass crossing as a means of showing its displeasure at Spain’s rapprochement with Algeria , Sánchez said there was nothing to indicate the involvement of the Moroccan authorities.
Related: ‘We want to find a better future’: teenage girls on why they risked their lives to reach Spain
“There’s no information from any intelligence agency that raises doubts over the involvement of Moroccan authorities,” he told Cadena Ser radio on Monday. “Cooperation with Morocco is frankly positive. I’d like to stress that we need to be aware that this crisis can be resolved only through cooperation – and not through a lack of trust in Morocco, which would only further aggravate the already complex situation we have in Ceuta.”
Sánchez said fake news had been pumped out on social media accounts “associated with Russia, Israel and the international far right that always use migration to attack not just Spain but also Europe”.
The accusation drew a furious response from Israel. The country’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, called it a “brazen lie”, adding: “Continuing to spread defamatory lies will not distract from Sánchez’s disgraceful failure to manage his country’s affairs.”
The Kremlin rejected allegations that Russia was connected to the Ceuta migration crisis, the RBC daily reported on Monday.
Sánchez repeated his assertion that the influx was due to the activities of “criminal gangs” who had used disinformation to falsely claim that a ruling by Spain’s supreme court meant that no one who entered Ceuta by swimming could be deported back to Morocco.
Although the overwhelming majority of the migrants crossed back into Morocco weeks ago , at least 1,500 people, including minors, are still on the streets of Ceuta. Their continuing presence has led to clashes between some Ceuta residents and police, while some of the migrants have had their belongings burned while sleeping rough on beaches. On Saturday, four Moroccan migrants were arrested for throwing stones at Spanish soldiers.
Sánchez said there would soon be “sufficient capacity” to accommodate all those still in the enclave.
Spain’s conservative People’s party has accused the government of failing to protect the people of Ceuta. “It did nothing to avoid the invasion on 30 July and it’s doing nothing to stop the public order crisis that’s getting worse every day,” the PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said last week.
Santiago Abascal, the leader of the far-right Vox party, has described events in Ceuta as “an invasion and an act of war promoted by Morocco and allowed by Sánchez, who is incapable of responding because he is subservient to Morocco”.
As many as 141 people are thought to have died trying to enter the Spanish enclave at the end of July. The influx of about 70,000 men, women and children unleashed a political crisis, a humanitarian emergency and reignited tensions within the EU over immigration .
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Sam Jones in Madrid. Published 31 Aug 2026, 10:21 am.
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